No, i'm not talking about a shopping addiction. God knows i still have to battle those shopping impulse demons now and then, but that's not what i'm talking about here.

No, I'm talking about another addiction...to sleeping pills. I actually decided to go cold turkey in part becus trying to time my prescription and figuring out the cheapest place to get them was starting to annoy me.

It all started about 3 years ago, when i was dating T. We were in a routine of him coming up here for the weekend or my going down there, but either way, I found it difficult to fall asleep with someone snoring next to me. I've always been a light sleeper. So one night, at his place, he took a prescription sleeping pill becus he hadn't slept well the night before or something, and i asked him if i couuld try one too. I was very happy with how quickly it made me sleepy.

I soon grew quite fond of those sleeping pills, so I asked my PCP for a prescription. I started out taking them only occasionally, but it didn't take long for me to become both psychologically and physically dependent on that little pill for a good night's sleep. The doctor was particularly sympathetic and said he himself took a sleeping pill every night. Just a reflection of the stressful lives we lead, he said.

I don't like sleeping pills, or medications in general. For one, it's an added cost. While the pill i like is a generic and not expensive, i also have to factor in the doctor's visits to get the prescription. My mail order prescription service advises you to ask your doc for a 90-day supply with 3 refills so that you're covered for a full year, but my PCP won't do that, for liability reasons, he said, and will only write a prescription good for a 6 month supply, requiring me to come see him (another $25 office visit co-pay) to get another prescription.

I've tried in the past to wean myself off these things, but when i skipped the pill, i felt i slept so poorly that it really interefered with the following day's activities and i just felt tired and sluggish. I'd toss and turn all night. It just didn't seem worth it.

But these pills can become addictive, and that's another reason i don't like them. So to try to avoid that, i don't usually take them on weekends; i figure if i sleep poorly the night before, i can always take a daytime nap.

So anyway, i realized my supply of pills was getting somewhat low. My doc thinks i take 20 mg when i really break them in half and just take 10 mg. I do this to save money. I'm afraid if i told him i was only taking 10 mg, he woud stop prescribing the 20 mg. And it appears that 20 mg is the highest dosage i could get, so i don't want to reach the maximum dose any sooner than i have to, especially as continued use of these pills can result in them becoming less effective over time.

So I realized i'd have to see the doc to get another prescription and to save $ i figured, instead of going to see him in December, why not schedule my annual physical in early January and kill 2 birds with one stone, so to speak. (I hate that expression, but you know what i mean.) Plus, I already used up my 2008 flex spending reimbursement allocation, so i can save money another way by delaying the visit til January.

I poured all the pills out of the bottle and counted them, seeing that i have enough to last til about Feb. 1 if i continue skipping weekends. I made the appt. for the phsyical for early January.

Then i was trying to figure out the cheapest place to get them. If i went thru Medco, it's just $24 for a 3 month supply, but i happen to have a coupon for a $25 gift card at Walgreens for any new prescriptions. I have to call my local store to see what they'd charge for it.

But then i was thinking, geez, with the long holiday weekend, you've already gone 4 days without sleeping pills. Maybe this would be a good time to just continue that route and see if you can get thru the week without feeling exhausted.

So that's what i'm gonna do. I still may get the prescription for more pills come January; i don't have to fill it immediately and even if i do, i could just have the pills on hand for, umm, special occasions or at least maybe i could cut back enough that i only need a single prescription to last the whole year. Kind of like having an insurance policy.
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In other news, i blew about $80 at Costco: pumpkin ravioli (mmmm) garlic and parmesan cheese ravioli (mmmm), a gallon of mustard (oh my), pomegranite juice (i'll live to be 100!), 4 pounds of ground turkey, 3.5 dozen eggs (umm, that's a lot of eggs for 1 person but they're good til January...omelet, anyone?) and some dark chocolate/almond cookies highly recommended by Mom.

Back home, i made a big pot of turkey chili which has already been separated into individual serving containers i can bring to work for lunch. I also made some Trader Joe's brownies, read Money magazine, did more Xmas decorating and watched the sleety snow and rain come down.

By the way, you guys say the nicest things in your comments here. It really makes my day that people actually read my ramblings and enjoy it. Thanks, guys.

People collect all sorts of things. Me? I collect mortar & pestles. Actually, i have just three of them, but i find myself attracted to them wherever i see them.

Here's the first one in my collection, and the most special:



My grandfather, a retired US Rubber factory foreman, spent countless hours devoted to his marquetry and woodworking. This is one of several pieces i have that he made. It's 2 kinds of wood in this piece, but i don't remember what they are. He also made beautiful lamps, salt and pepper shakers, goblets and other household items. He and my grandmother traveled up and down the east coast in their retirement days, selling his stuff at craft shows. He always sold out.

Here are the other two i acquired:


The smaller soapstone one (looks like marble) i got for less than $10 at a church bazaar a few years ago. The wood one i got at TJ Maxx, of all places. It's olive wood and i love the rugged beauty of the knotted wood.

Here's one of 4 or 5 lamps i have, made by Grandpa:

Many different kinds of wood were used in these lamps, creating a kind of mosaic effect. Many of the woods he ordered, from all over the world, are simply not available for purchase today.

Grandpa could always be found in 1 of 2 places: either in the basement, working on his woodwork, or parked on the living room couch. In an age before remote controls, he had 3 TVs set up with 2 on mute and 1 with sound. I guess he loved his TV. I remember watching the Smothers Brothers over there or the Macy's Tgiving Day parade, which, as a child, bored me to tears. But he grew up in Harlem, so I guess it had more meaning for him. He was a 3-pack-a-day man, and unfiltered Camels were his brand. And that's what eventually killed him, at age 77.

My memories of that house he built in Saddle Brook, NJ are so vivid. It's been many years now, but i can remember everything, down to what hung on the walls and the way our Dalmatian, Rufus, used to make my grandfather laugh as the dog raced around the house in circles. It was a sturdy, brick, 2-bedroom house with 1 bath (seems so outdated now, but it seemed plenty big when i was growing up. My favorite place was the large patio with those narrow louvered windows. My grandmother lined the shelves in front of the windows with artificial plants. Go figure. For some years, they enjoyed keeping parakeets and as a special treat they'd let the parakeets out of their cage and they'd swoop around the patio, thinking they were in some plastic jungle. They had a large rattan dining set where we'd often eat, and one of those glider style love-seat sized chairs. Funny, seeing either rattan dinette sets or gliders or even fake rubbery grapes makes me nostalgic.

On a more mundane note, i pretty much finished raking leaves in my yard. I decorated the house for Xmas.

Oh, and i did end up buying myself an early Xmas present, a Canon PowerShot digital camera. With 4x zoom and 8 megapixel, it's an upgrade from my current 2x zoom, 3.2 megapixel. And it cost about the same, $100, though this time i got it from Amazon, not Wal-Mart.

Just the 3 of us for Thanksgiving, since my parents have been split up for many years and neither my sister or i have kids. (My dad and brothers live out of state.) So when it's that few people, it doesn't take long to "catch up" on things, especiallly as i keep in pretty regular touch with my mother anyway.

So i showed up there around noon and we was back home around 4:30. I was already getting hungry again around 6:30, so i ate up all my leftovers!

Today, my friend is coming to pick me up after she gets out of work, around 2:30 pm. To do some shopping at various places. Shopping for her is a sport, entertainment and pasttime, while i limit my shopping only to essentials. Still, the holiday season is upon us and i wouldn't mind going out to "browse," although if the crowds are really bad, i'll likely poop out after just a few hours. I can't stand crowds, lines or cruising huge parking lots for a space.

Truth be told, these shopping trips sometimes grate on me just a wee bit. It's her turn to drive. Good for me, cus it saves me gas, but she drives a manual SUV and always shifts gears very roughly, so it's a bouncy ride. And becus she likes to "make a day of it," she always seems to take these long, out of the way routes to wherever we go, making every trip 3 times as long as it needs to be. I guess I'm complaining. Didn't plan to, but i'm now just remembering this stuff becus it's been a while since i went "shopping" with her.

I hope i don't reget telling her i'd go out with her today. I have just 1 gift to get at Bed Bath & Beyond, and i wouldn't mind stopping at Trader Joe's, but that's about it.

But i have the a.m. to myself. I'll be raking leaves in a little while. I'm really conscious of getting some exercise, in some form, every day, but i haven't had any exercise since Tuesday, so i NEED to rake those leaves.

I'll also be balancing my checkbook, doing my November monthly expenses and decorating the house for Xmas.

If you're tired of the same old canned cranberry sauce (eww), here's an easy recipe that is VERY good. It's a great taste, the combo of the chewy dried cranberries and the crisp red grapes is just great together. I've gotten lots of compliments on it and it's so easy to make. This makes A LOT of relish: 6 cups.

4 cups cranberry juice cocktail
3 cups dried cranberries
3 cups red seedless grapes, halved
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

Boil the cranberry juice until it's reduced to 1 cup. Put the dried cranberries in a large bowl. Pour the hot, reduced liquid over it. Stir to coat. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate. Removed from fridge 1 hour before serving. Just before serving, stir in the grapes, lemon juice and lemon peel into the cranberry relish.

(You can make this a few days in advance if you like, and just cut up and add the red grapes before serving, otherwise, the grapes would be less than fresh.)

You won't be disappointed! I still remember when i brought this dish to my then-boyfriend's family's for Tgiving dinner. They had a big group, about 30. My ex's mom was sitting at another table set up in their living room, but i happened to be looking over at her as she put a forkful of my relish in her mouth, and i'll never forget the enjoyment i got from watching the expression on her face as she tasted it. I could tell she really liked it! Later, she asked me for the recipe.

Today was a relatively painless day at work. (Well, most days are.) I wrote a news story about how this holiday season will be very light for travel, by car and air, due to the economy. Also wrote a blog post on how the federal deficit could jeopardize America's AAA rating. I even had time to tidy up my Word file folders and create new ones for next year so i can more easily save and locate stories i write. I did the same for my email folders.

We got out at 2 pm and since it was still daylight, i was able to take the shorter, back roads route home and it was a pleasure, no traffic at all. Can't say i did much; i was feeling very tired again. I watched a few court shows on TV; Judge Judy and Judge Pirrone, the former state prosecutor in NY. Then i watched the local news, something i rarely get home in time to catch.

There's all this hub-bub about Black Friday deals. I don't actually have a need to go out on Friday, but i'm actually feeling like i should think of something i "need" just to take advantage of all these deals i'm hearing about.

I was toying with the idea of getting a new digital camera, tho again, i don't really need a new one. The one i had i spent about $100 on at Wal-Mart probably 5 years ago. It does the job. But i never got the memory card for it becus it cost $100 and i figured i might better spend that money on an upgrade someday, so i've worked around the 24 photo limit without the card. I just have to delete photos after transferring them to my computer. It wouldn't work if i was going on some awe-inspiring vacation where i wanted to take a lot of photos, but that hasn't happened lately, so no biggie. Maybe i'll check to see what www.consumersearch.com has to say.

So for tomorrow's meal i'm making my cranberry and grape relish and i was gonna bring the brussel sprouts, but they didn't have them at the store so i got string beans instead. Brussel sprouts are sort of a tradition in my family. My grandmother always used to make them becus she knew how much i loved them, and now my mother continues that tradition. (It's nice to feel spoiled every once in a while.)

I'm really looking to 4 days off from work. Not much planned. Maybe headed out shopping, or just looking, on Friday with friend H. Otherwise, have more leaves to rake and the weather will be decent for that, low 40s.

I never imagined i'd still be reporting so close to Thanksgiving on those stalwart souls who HAVENT TURNED ON THE HEAT.

I give you guys a lot of credit. I'm with you in spirit. Although my heat is regularly kicking on, it's set at 59 degrees. You get used to it, for the most part. I hope i can keep it this low all winter long. In past years, my indoor high temp was set at 60 or 62, so this is my own ongoing personal challenge.

Here are the remaining 6 finalists who still have not turned on the heat (as far as i know):

debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
nomorecredit- NY
swimgirl - Northern California

Those who already turned on the heat:
monkeymama - N. California – Nov. 23
canoineag – Denver – Nov. 9
Joan.of.the.Arch – MO – Nov. 9
Analise - northern California - Nov. 9
Little gopher - Minnesota - Nov. 7
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
Koppur - Massachusetts - Oct. 29
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
toyguy1963 - Ohio - Oct. 27
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
Buckeye - Ohio - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - Wisconsin - October 1
homebody - October 1

And here's my friend's delicious chicken Paprikosh recipe.

Ingredients:
Chicken - one whole chicken cut in pieces or any chicken parts you like.
Onions - figure 1 medium sized onion per serving, chopped as small as you can manage, but not mushed
Green pepper - I used one cubanelle, sliced fine - I estimate 1/2 pepper per serving
Celery - one stalk, sliced fine, per serving
You can also use mushrooms, or no veggies at all if you prefer
Garlic - 1 clove, crushed, for 4 servings
Salt & Pepper to taste
Sweet Paprika - 1 flat TABLEspoon per serving
Canola Oil or other light, unflavored oil, about a tablespoon per serving (to taste)
Chicken broth, about a cup, more or less
Sour cream (I used low fat) - about a cup for 4 servings

Saute onions, peppers and celery in canola oil until onions are light golden
Add in chicken pieces and continue to saute until chicken has a little color, but be careful that the onions do not burn (about 5-8 minutes)
Add garlic, salt, pepper, paprika and chicken broth (enough to wet chicken but not cover
completely, you don't want to make soup), cover and simmer for about 1and 1/2 hours, checking occasionally to be sure it doesn't stick to the bottom, has enough liquid, and check for flavor/spicing after an hour. Also check for doneness, i.e., the meat should fall off the bones if using legs/thighs, or require very little chewing and no knife if using chicken breast. Usually 1and 1/2 hours will do it. It should look like a fairly thick stew.
When finished cooking, stir in sour cream, but do not cook any more with the sour cream.
Serve over pasta, rice, or a slice of toast for the leftovers.
If you are planning to freeze some, do not add the sour cream until you are ready to eat it.

This recipe also works fine with beef, pork or veal.

Amusingly, my friend listed ingredients "per serving," without saying just how many servings the dish made. We both had a serving and she gave me the leftovers, which was 2 more servings, so i guess figure the whole thing easily made 4 large servings.

So today i schlepped down to the Honda dealer to get the 4 snow tires put on my car. He agreed my all-season tires were pretty worn, so i didn't take them back, but he added he thought i wouldn't get much more than 1 more winter with the snows, either. Guess that makes sense, cus i think i bought both sets of tires at the same time, 6 years ago. The all-seasons stay on for roughly 8 months, the snows, 4 months.

But anyway, it being Saturday, i had a 1.5 hour wait so when the shuttle van driver came round asking if anyone wanted to go anywhere, i leapt at the chance instead of sitting bored to tears in a room with a bunch of noisy customers also waiting for their cars. I had him take me to Home Depot, where i planned on using a $25 gift card i had. It was 2 pm and we agreed he'd return at 10 to 3, tho he said he had to pick up people at the mall so he might be a little late. Fine.

I ended up buying a nice shower curtain rod for my bathroom. Probably 8 years ago i had a new tiled shower put in and got rid of the icky fiberglass thing. For some reason, the guys doing the work removed my old shower curtain rod and had no idea where it was when the job was over. So my mother gave me an old one which now has rust stains on it and it just looks ick. So i splurged, $25 on a new one, tho again, i used the gift card so it didn't cost me anything.

So that purchase took me all of 10 minutes, but i wandered up and down the lighting section, the appliance section and what not.

At 2:45 pm i went out front to meet the guy, but it was so darn cold today, not getting past 25 or so, that i went back just inside those automatic doors and kept near there so i could spot him when he pulled up, "any minute."

It was freezing cus with people coming and going, those doors were oepening constantly. I was afraid i'd miss him if i didn't keep an eye out. I ended up waiting, waiting, freezing, cold and tired for 50 minutes. Finally, i had to ask Home Depot's service desk if i could call Honda. They said something came up or something like that but that he'd be on his way.

I was feeling really drained by the time he showed up. He had other people in the van. I asked him what happened and he apologized and said "the time just got away from him," meaning, i think, he just forgot or didn't keep track of time. Geez, if you're driving a shuttle for a car dealer, the one thing you need to be is RELIABLE.

No biggie in the end, i guess, but somehow the whole day just really tired me out, and i'm still dragging now. It's times like this, which sometimes happen, when i wonder if it's my MS. Cus i just feel TIRED. Yet, other times, i am amazingly productive and energetic.

Fatigue is a nearly universal MS symptom, but i never really thought it affected me. I once asked my neurologist well, just how tired is tired for an MS person who has problems with fatigue. He said, you're so tired, you can barely lift your pinkie finger. Well, altho i am having trouble keeping my eyes open, i am not that bad and of course, here i am, typing away. Still, sometimes i wonder.

Just standing on a cold cement floor today with the cold air coming in for 50 minutes just nailed me hard.

I did stop at the new supermarket in town and spent $30 on not very much, some organic lettuce and spinach (i'm making a spinach/lentil soup in the slow cooker tomorrow), some organic Granny Smith apples, a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a gallon of milk. I think i'll stick to costco and shop rite from now on. Just too many supermarket choices around here; i'm constantly comparing prices but i don't want to shop at more than 1 a week, otherwise the gas exceeds whatever i may be saving.

Today was the first fillup in a very long time that gas was under $2 a gallon. It was $1.97. Whoooo-ee.

I see signs of small businesses struggling these days. We have a locally-owned drug store in town that competes with the CVS and Brooks Pharmacy. I used to like to get my prescriptions filled there, cus the owner refuses to sell tobacco, but i realized his prices were higher. But he had a coupon offering $10 off a minimum $20 purchase. That woudl be 50% off if you found something for just $20, so of course that was my mission today, too. They carry a nice selection of t-shirts and sweathshirts with my hometown name on it, and i'm incredibly into my (adopted) hometown. I already have a sweatshirt with my town name, and a long-sleeved t-shirt. The sleeves are too long. So today i bought a 3/4 length sleeve t-shirt that came out to $12 with the coupon. Normally, $22. (Yeah, see, i told you they were normally a little pricey.) So, you see, i continue on my spending binge. Put an end to it, Fern, now!

I'm usually pretty disciplined about spending money. I know what my long-term goals are and what i need to do in the short term to get there. I know exactly how much I spend each month and how much i need to save.

But i fell off the wagon this past week. This kind of thing doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's because i've gone through a period of being VERY GOOD andnot spending much on anything and i end up feeling "deprived."

So I blew about $100 total in 2 separate incidents. First, I spent about $58 on HSN on some Technibond jewelry, 3 chains and a nice pendant.

Then, later in the week, it was too cold to walk on my lunch hour so i strolled into TJ Maxx and ended up buying 1) a $13 pair of very comfortable jeans (though i already have about 6 prs of jeans, some of which don't fit too well), 2) a nice wood mortar and pestle (but i already have 2) and 3) a set of 8 small Xmas ornaments. I liked them becus they were all animals: a fox, squirrel, rabbit and so on.

I'm feeling sort of regretful about the purchases, but at the same time, it's not going to break the bank. Still, I don't feel my salary is all that high and i'm trying to stretch my dollars as far as they can possibly go.

Well, anyway.

Today i'll be heading to the honda dealer to get my snow tires put on and while i'm there, get an oil/filter change. With my AAA membership, I get 10% off everything. I just have to remember to show them my card. It definitely makes it worthwhile to go there, since the private mechanics around here charge just as much. Plus, at the dealer, they offer a free shuttle service that'll drop you off wherever you want to go shopping while your car's being worked on. They already told me to plan on 2 hours, it being a Saturday, so i'm thinking i may have them drop me off at Home Depot. I have a $25 gift card they gave me when one of their free classes didn't take place when it was supposed to. So I could "browse" Home Depot. Maybe (boring) for something practical, like i can always use more mousetraps, or some kind of insulation stuff. But it would be more fun to spend it on Xmas decorations or maybe something in the houseplant section. Or whatever. We'll see.

I got paid $242 for the remainder i was owed on my freelance work. So looks like i grossed just shy of $1,600 for the year for freelance work but i haven't paid any taxes on it yet. The work is so sporadic I don't like to get into the quarterly-you-must-file-an-estimated-tax-form routine. I usually squeak by without having to pay a penalty at year's end. Because I did the work for 2 different clients, and the 1 client's work totalled less than $600, i believe i won't receive a 1099 form from that client, just the other one, so my gross taxable income should just be about $1,000.

Yesterday's storm was really something. Very windy, rainy....and warm. There was a tornado watch for the entire state of Connecticut until 2 am, but as far as i know none were reported. Scary.

Raked some leaves in the a.m., then headed to my friend's for lunch. I brought beverages and our hometown version of Monopoly. She made a yummy "paprikosh," or Hungarian stew, over pasta. I even got the leftovers to take home!

Afterwards, we had tea and played Monopoly. Then i got a little tour of her bedroom. There is stuff piled everywhere. She is a hoarder of the first degree, just the opposite of me. She has been complaining that the twin-sized mattress she sleeps on is shot, and hurts her back. She has a perfectly good queen-sized mattress standing upright in her sunroom. Why not use that, i asked. Becus it won't fit in her bedroom.

So i got to see where she's sleeping now, a small room with the twin bed, and then a much larger bedroom filled with piles of plastic bags with god knows what in them, piles of books, DVDs, an old computer she's not using, tons of clothing, etc. It's hard to move around in there, but if cleaned up it'd be a beautiful bedroom!

I have offered before to help her sort through her stuff, deciding what to keep, what to trash, what to give to GoodWill and perhaps what to try selling. I offered again. She said she "may" take me up on the offer. She doesn't like to part with things, that's for sure. She has a 4-drawer file cabinet and she estimated she could probably get rid of the stuff in 3 of the 4 drawers. Let's have a shredding party, i said. I'll bring my shredder and we'll spend a Sunday afternoon doing nothing but shredding. It would be a start.

I really can't understand psychologically why she can't just clean the place up. She hasn't used the garage in years, becus that's where all her mother's things are storeds, and her mother hasn't let her dispose of anything or sort thru it, but much of it is likely damaged by water, mold and mildew. Her old microwave went kaput and her mother had a brand new one, somewhere in that garage, but she hasn't tried to look for it.

She said she used to be like me but that things changed about a year or two after her mother moved in with her. (That was before i even knew her. Her 90-something mother's been in the hospital for 2 weeks now after many emergency trips there. She has dementia and looks like she'll be admitted to a nursing home straight from the hospital. She believes my friend is trying to poison her, refused to take her high blood pressure meds, etc., so being in a medical setting is really the best for her. She seems calmer now, my friend said, and my friend is sleeping better.

So anyway, i would love to help my friend clean the place up. Once her mother gets settled, i think her general idea is that she'd want to sell the house and move into a small town-subsidized apartment complex here in town. She doesn't have a lot of money and is living now on SS and works 1 day a week doing bookkeeping for a local garden nursery. What money she had she loaned to her daughter, who is exactly my age, and was never repaid the money. Her daughter hasn't seen her or spoken to her in several years, though she lives in a neighboring town. There's just too much detail to go into here, but anyway, it's a very sad story. Her daughter is struggling financially, and that's another story. And what money my friend's mother had has all been frittered away by my friend's brother, who is schizophrenic and doesn't support himself and spent the $ in past years living in hotel rooms.

She doesn't really have a lot of options. I've tried to help her as much as could, urging her to get the Americares application in by the end of this month to meet their deadline. It would mean volunteers would come in the spring and help with repairs to her small ranch house. The paint is peeling badly on her front porch, she needs a new roof and she has some drainage issues and also needs a new driveway.

I helped her get a new refrigerator from a different state program a few years back becus she's low income.

Despite her many challenges, she always has such an amiable and cheerful outlook, or at least she never shows discouragement or depression.

She's very excited becus she's taking a trip down to Florida to visit her grandaughter and her family for Christmas. It'll be her first "vacation" in years. she got the airlines tickets for just $250, which seems pretty good to me.

You might think our friendship is unusual. She's about 20 years older than me, and we are different in a few ways besides her hoarder/clutter mentality, but somehow, we clicked after meeting at a job about 7 years ago and still we're friends today. (It helped that she lives about a half mile away from me.)

I cannot share many of my interests with her, like kayaking or serious walking or hiking, becus she is very overweight, but sometimes we do leisurely walks. I worry about her health, but there's only so much you can do. As it is, i'm always afraid i'm coming across as a bit bossy or too outspoken about what i think she should do. She tolerates me very well!

I'll be curious to see if she takes me up on my offer to help her shred or sort thru stuff this weekend. She's lived with this clutter for years. It baffles me and i have plenty of energy to help her, if only she'll let me.

Hit Costco first thing this a.m., as soon as they opened, in fact, and plunked down $75 for probably a lot more food than i need. I was sort of looking forward to just taking my time and browsing every aisle since it's been quite a number of years since i've had a membership there. When i got home i had to divvy up the gallon of organic cider, gallon of milk and 5 lbs of american cheeese into smaller containers so i could freeze some, since i'd never use it all up at once.

Also filled up the tank at a lovely $2.18 a gallon.

It's been rainy-icky all day, and conditions deteriorated moving into the afternoon as we saw some lightening and gusty winds. I was just about through watching a not-very-good Netflix movie when we lost power, but regained it about an hour and a half later.

So i thought i'd tackle my annual self evaluation for my performance review at work, my first for this job. It's rather a pain, if you ask me, and naturally i was midway through the task when i kept getting error messages, so unforunately, i won't be able to finish it up this weekend.

At least i made all my selections for health insurance and my flex spending account for next year. (Actually, it was easy cus i'm keeping everything the same. When i decide the amount i want deducted for the flex spending account, i usually make a list of all the predictable doctor's visits i'll make, but i always add a certain amount for unexpected things, like for poison ivy, colds or, like this past spring, for the Lyme Disease i got. So i figure i'll keep the same amount, $1100 for the year, or $44 deducted per paycheck. Becus of multiple doctors' visits and bloodwork for the Lyme, i actually used up my allotment by October, but i DON"T plan on getting it again, so will stick with $1100. If i have any more deducted it will be a case of the Incredibly Shrinking Paycheck, if you know what i mean.)

I was VERY pleasantly surprised that our monthly premiums for the health insurance, dental and vision increased only $1 or less per paycheck for each of the three. Hard to believe, but some relief there. Now if only i can get a decent raise i might actually feel i'm making some sort of progress as i contemplate 1/4 of my entire life savings wiped out by the stock market.

So actually, there could be some good news on the horizon, financially speaking, if i get a decent raise, with healthcare costs no higher than last year and with cheaper commuting costs due to falling gas prices.

I've decided on the new all-season tires i want and also that i won't be messing around with snow tires anymore. It was a pain, and costly, to deal with, but i will put the snows on, which still have good tread, one more time in another few weeks. I was skidding on wet roads with my all-seasons, so after they come off i'll just bring them to recycling at the dump and plan on keeping the snow tires on through the end of winter. I'll track it so i can see how much it hurts my mileage; as long as it's not monstrously bad, i'll keep the snows on to "use 'em up," then will buy my pricey Michelins at local tire chain that does all those rotations and flat repairs for free. I did all my research ahead of when i really need to act, but it's nice having a concrete plan of action.

Not much else going on. Heading to friend's tomorrow for lunch and Monopoly. Will bring a beverage.

Raked most of my backyard today. Lay down cardboard, newspaper and mulch to expand next year's veggie garden with a weed-free start.

Watched a food show on PBS. A father/daughter samplying some snacks in the Yucatan. Had some carrot/ginger/cashew soup. Sauteed some brussel sprouts as an add-in. Didn't care for it, the strong ginger taste, that is. Should've trusted my instincts but my mom talked me into it by saying she'd buy them back from me if i didn't like them, so she's getting 5 quarts of the stuff!

Spoke to friend H. Her mother's been in the hospital about a week and looks like she'll go directly into a nursing home from there. Becus her mother, who has dementia, thinks H. is trying to poison her, they're suggesting an indepdendent guardian, which H. doesn't object to. At least they'll be sure to get her to take her meds, and H. can get a good night's sleep.

Another Heat update with 4 changes.... interstingly 4 of the 9 who still haven't turned the heat on all live in northern California. I guess it's more mild there than here in the northeast.

Still NO HEAT (as far as i know):

debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
Joan.of.the.Arch - MO
canoineag - Denver
nomorecredit- NY
swimgirl - Northern California
monkeymama - N. California

Those who already turned on the heat:
Analise - northern California - Nov. 9
Little gopher - Minnesota - Nov. 7
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
Koppur - Massachusetts - Oct. 29
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
toyguy1963 - Ohio - Oct. 27
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
Buckeye - Ohio - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - Wisconsin - October 1
homebody - October 1

Princess Perky asked for my grandma's apple/raisin crisp recipe, so here it is. The only modification I made is to cut way back on the sugar. It is really plenty sweet with the amounts i have....

Topping:
1 & 1/4 Cups old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinammon
1 & 1/2 stick butter, room temperature
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Mix oats, brown sugar, flour and cinammon in large bowl. Add butter and mix until coarse crumbs form. Mix in chopped walnuts.

Filling:
4 to 6 Granny Smith apples, chopped
1 & 1/2 cups golden or brown raisins
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablesppon flour
3/4 teasspoon cinammon

Combine all filling ingredients together and mix well. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Transfer filling to buttered 9 x 13" glass baking dish. Spread topping over it. Bake until golden brown on top, about 55 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

I'm very disappointed that the squirrels have discovered the suspended-on-a-clothesline bird feeder. The soda bottles strung on either side of the feeder don't do anything, as the squirrel simply JUMPS UP TO THE FEEDER FROM THE GROUND. It's a distance of maybe 4 feet. I can't make it any higher or i won't be able to fill it without using a ladder, not something i want to do all winter long....darn.

Yesterday was a lot of running around, but again, i allow myself just 1 single drive all weekend to conserve gas (FRUGAL MOVE #1), even though gas prices here have dropped to a low of about $2.28 a gallon.

So I brought my trash to the dump. I could've gone 3 weeks without doing so as one person doesn't generate a lot of trash, but i had a number of dead mice in there and i don't like their little dead bodies laying around.

Then I topped off my gas tank altho i had three-quarters of a tank, but i was passing by the very cheap station i don't always get to, so i pumped in an extra $7 (FRUGAL MOVE #2). Then I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a set of 5 Pyrex glass food containers with lids ($21) Much cheaper than if you bought the pieces separately. (FRUGAL MOVE #3). I had pre-ordered them for my momm for Xmas.

I had some time to kill, so i browsed the store and also got a AA battery recharger and batteries for her and a D size battery recharger and batteries for me (for my flashlight). Also got a nice velour sleevless vest, navy blue, $12.

then I stopped to deposit some freelance checks at the bank and headed to mom's.

She cut my hair a few inches. (FRUGAL MOVE #4). I always feel so much better after she cuts it. I showed her how easy it is to access my online money market account online as she didn't know about them or the 4% i'm earning in interest at Dollar Savings Direct.

I showed her some other things on the comptuer too. She uses the computer all the time but doesn't know a lot of things about it that i guess you just pick up on the job, and since she lives alone, she hasn't learned much.

Anyway, we headed to Costco together in the drizzly rain and the area was mobbed with others doing the same thing. She renewed her membership and i signed up and got my card, then we dodged other shoppers getting a few things. Milk there is really a bargain. $2.58 a gallon vs. $4 elsewhere. (FRUGAL MOVE #5). The cheapest i'd seen it elsewhere was if you bought TWO you could get them for $3 each at Shop Rite, but i don't always have room in my freezer for the 2nd gallon, so now Costco is my new milk source.

The 40 lb box of cat litter at $6.99 is still the bargain i remember it being years ago. Cat litter in the supermarket is quite pricey.

I also got some delicious tortilla chips/crackers with flaxseed, sunflower and sesame seeds, quinoa and brown rice and oat fiber and very healthy and VERY good. My mom, Certified Health Nut, loves them, too.

Yesterday was mild, though dank and drizzly, all day. I watched a good Netflix movie.

This a.m. it's bright and sunny, still mild, so this will be a good day to rake the many leaves that finally are all on the ground. I also plan to lay corrugated cardboard and newspaper down on the expanded area of my veggie garden, (FRUGAL MOVE #6) then shovel mulch on top of it, so it'll be ready to cultivate, weed-free, in spring.

Also plan to dig up a clump of my chives and pot them up and see if they do ok indoors for winter. I gave my mom my potted parsley and she's still using it. It's just 9 am here and already it's 45 degrees. Cool. No, i mean warm.

What follows is the latest No Heat update I've got. I could've letft someone off, but i'm pretty surprised there are still NINE people who havent' turned on heat and most of 'em are not in warm climates!
Good goin' guys! You've really impressed me!

I turned my heat on weeks ago but it really hasn't kicked on much, 1. becus it's still been mostly mild and 2. it's set at 55 overnight and 58 for about 4 hours daily on weekdays.

Still NO HEAT (as far as i know):

debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
nomorecredit- NY

Those who already turned on the heat:
Little gopher - Minnesota - Nov. 7
monkeymama - N. California - Nov. 4
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
Koppur - Massachusetts - Oct. 29
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
Buckeye - Ohio - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - Wisconsin - October 1
homebody - October 1

Darn. Another big bill looming ahead.

This month's big bills were the $1200 i paid for a chimney liner last week and another $825 for homeowner's insurance that's due in a few weeks.

And soon, it'll be car tires.

There's still tread on them, but just barely enough to touch the head on a Lincoln penny.

I wouldn't even have been thinking about getting new tires now, except that i did some skidding this past week coming home from work. The road was wet and i skidded EASILY on a level road, without even applying the brake that hard. That was a little scary, becus i could have easily plowed into the car in front of me or to the side. I was on a busy interstate highway doing about 50 in heavy commuter traffic.

I don't want to take any chances. So I guess i'll stop at the library and check consumer reports for their recommendation. What tires did i get last time?

I do have a set of 4 snow tires i have put on each winter, and they have less wear, so maybe i can defer the purchase of radials until spring and just drive very carefully for another month, then put the snows on in early December and i should be ok until spring.

I'd been exchanging radials for winter snows every year becus i get much better traction with 4 snow tires in winter. But then someone told me that frequently putting tires on and off the rims is not good for the tire and maybe weakens it. I don't have an extra set of rims. Years ago i checked some junk yards, but at that time it was still a relatively new car and i guess not many of them had been junked, so i could never find the right size and i didn't want to spend on new rims.

Well, let's see, now i'm curious when i last bought the tires and what they were. I've just found the paperwork in my file cabinet and i see i bought Dunloop SP Sport A2 tires, which were ranked #1 among all-season tires by Consumer Reports in their Nov. 02 issue. The 4 tires cost just $240.

I see they're warrantied for 50,000 miles. I didn't make note of my mileage when i got the tires, but i know what my mileage was 8 months later, and then by adding 10,000 miles for the unaccounted-for 8 months i come up with just 40,000 miles at most. Well, in any event, they wouldn't honor the warranty cus now i'm reading the fine print and to honor it i'd have had to have an authorized Dunlop dealer do the tire rotations for all these years.

Well, i'll be more careful next time. I bought my last tires online from The Tire Rack and they were delivered to my door, unwrapped.

I think when i do get new tires in the spring, i'll just go to our local Town Fair Tire Chain, where they do rotations and flat tires for free, and maybe the snow tire changeovers, too.

When i priced tires there last time, their prices were significantly higher than i could find elsewhere, so that's why i didn't go with them. But twice a year, i've had to shell out $40 a pop to have the snows put on, then taken off in spring, adding $80 annually to my car expenses. So maybe paying a little more upfront at Town Fair Tire would be worth it. $80 x the 6 years i've had the tires = an extra $480.

I'll have to settle on exactly what tire i want, then price at Town Fair and elsewhere and figure out what's the best price when i factor in the cost of snow tire changeovers. and maybe it'd be worth the time to call some junkyards to look for used rims again. It's a 9 yr old car, but has just 98,000 miles on it. I expect to get another 50,000 miles out of it. Anyone know what used rims go for?

i was able to vote at a very un-busy time, early afternoon.

The guy came to install the chimney liner and i parted with the remainder of my $1200.

Also did 2 loads of laundry, picked up around the house, trimmed back some bittersweet vines i noticed and watched a little Judge Judy.

There's some apple and raisin crisp baking in the oven.

Going to hop in the shower, and then can't wait to settle in and watch the election returns.

I'm excited becus i think i have a taker for my broken old wheelbarrow. It has an illustrious history.

I got it when i moved here 13 years ago and my boyfriend at the time helped me put it together. It served me well for 10 years, but i left it out in the rain one too many times, and then my boyfriend of 3 years ago broke off one of the wood handles. He used duct tape to hold the thing together "temporarily," altho it held up for another year, when i broke off the other wood handle.

Even then, with no handles at all, i continued using the thing by holding it along the edges of the basin, but i quickly found that doing so did a real number on my back.

So last summer i gave away a cord of wood from a tree cut down on my property, and in return i asked for a used wheelbarrow in good condition. It's funny that the one i got was identical (orange Rubbermaid basin) to the one that broke.

Now i've cleaned up the garage so i can park my car in there over the winter, and i really want to finally, somehow, get rid of the broken wheelbarrow. The plastic basin is virtually indestructible but i had doubts whether anyone would want it.

I tried unbolting the rusty bolts but without WD-40, it might as well be glued on there. I knew it wouldn't fit in the trunk of my Honda all assembled.

So I posted on Craig's List and was surprised i got 2 guys who want it. I have responded to both and hope that one of them will take it asap cus that would make things very easy for me.

Yesterday i swept up about 5 wheelbarrows full of leaves from my driveway. I have some overhanging birch trees that drop on the driveway and since it's on a slope, it can be slippery when i walk down to the road to get my mail. So it's cleaned up, at least for now.

I also cut down some small trees, mostly undesirable Norway maple saplings (about 2 inches in diameter), from the brushy area near the big white pines, along the road. There's a lovely dogwood and Japanese maple in there that were competing for light, and the Norway maples quickle overshade everything. It looks better with just the row of 6 or 7 giant white pines and not too much scruffy understory.

I also improved on my current bird feeder-on-a-wire-strung-between-tool shed-and-crabapple tree system. Amazingly, i've seen no squirrels attempt to walk the line since i've had it rigged up about 3 weeks ago. What i did yesterday was replace the single tube feeder (lighter) with the triple tube feeder, which weighed down the line so it sagged in the middle, but i was able to tighten the whole line up so it's higher off the ground than the single tube feeder was before. I suppose that hunger may cause the squirrels to attempt Herculean, Olympics-worthy jumps, but so far, so good.

Neighbor's kitty stopped by to say hello, so i gave him a handful of Iams, which he wolfed down.

I also finally got around to planting some Egyptian walking onion that my dad gave me when i went to visit him in July! Yes, it was just sitting on my kitchen counter all this time and had actually sprouted little green sprouts, so i figured maybe Nov. 1 wasn't too late to plant. We'll see if it survives....

As i noted on Ima's blog, I realized with shock that I've lost $100,000 since January of this year. That's one-quarter of my life savings. Well, it's lost right now only on paper, and i haven't sold anything, so I'm still sitting tight, patiently, waiting for recovery. I did rebalance cus things had gotten out of whack. I was overweighted in bonds since they didn't lose value, and underweighted in small cap stocks. So i took $15,000 from my bond index fund (sell high) and ploughed it into my 2 small cap stock funds (buy low). This is all IRA money, so there won't be any tax repercussions.

A co-worker of mine is really upsetting me. (I'm burying mention of it down here so there's not much chance of someone i work with from stumbling onto it.) We sit right next to each other and have the same job. We've been very close.

Last summer, our immediate manager, T., and I started sharing resposniblity for writing the am news stories, every day. I didn't mind doing it, so i ended up doing the lion's share of them, about three-quarters of them. No problem. But then, in a meeting we had 3 weeks ago, it was decided that in addition to the am news story, we should have an afternoon news commentary story as well. This suddenly doubled our workload, which is in addition to all the other writing we do. I asked at the meeting whether coworker J. could help us with the workload. T., my boss, agreed.

For the next week, i waited to see if either T. would direct J. to start pitching in or J. would volunteer on his own. Niether happened. T., our manager, really doesn't care who does the work as long as it gets done.

(I had asked J. twice over the summer, very nicely and no-pressure, if he'd like to write a am news story and his reply each time was "No, not really." (This, after i have helped him write stuff and do other aspects of his job becus he couldn't get it done).

So i suggested to him a week ago that it was time for him to step up to the plate and do his fair share. "Are you kidding me?" he fumed. We had an argument right there in the office (altho surprisingly, both our boss and our boss' boss weren't there to witness it). He acted like he's totally jammed up with work. My personal feeling is that he struggles as a writer. He pointed out that he worked there til 9 pm one night while i go home daily pretty promptly at 5:30 pm. every day. As if working longer hours is some sort of merit badge. To me, it just means he's not very good at getting his job done within the course of the day.

So anyway, when i asked him to write that day's story, he said, "I'll flip you for it." I got annoyed, and said J., i don't WANT to flip you for it. I've been writing these stories daily since August. I'ts time you did your fair share.

So he flipped out and we had an argument. As if i have nothing else to do then write these stories. I'm very busy, too. Again, i think this entire argument could have been easily avoided if our boss had just done his job and directed J. to start pitching in. J. did end up agreeing to start sharing the workload, and i came up with a weekly schedule for the remainder of the year, indicating who is writing the news story for each day. I sent a copy to my manager, and he said fine. (Isn't he supposed to do this??)

So for the past week. J. has totally been giving me the cold shoulder. If i said good morning, he would reply back, but without looking me in the eye and completely distancing himself from me, quite an accomplishment when our desks are about 5 feet away.

I thought he'd eventually get over it, but he's been like that all week long, nursing his grudge. I can't believe a grown man could act so childishly. It's really very hurtful behavior. There aren't that many people that i am close to at my office, so to have him act so hostile to me makes me feel very much the outcast.

For the past 6 months, he's complained about the job, how much he hates it and how much he hates our boss' boss. (We all work together in the same area.) Complain, complain, complain. Every conversation always turned negative. I would just keep telling him that until he found something else, he should do his job and not act so unhappy, becus the job climate is not good and hey, he's got a wife and 2 kids to support. He would always agree, but i started distancing myself from him becus he would always be griping and his dark mood swings would affect me.

Still, as a friend, he can be very caring and giving, surprising you with a delicious milkshake after lunch or treating me to an egg sandwich down in the cafeteria for breakfast. He's definitely an emotional guy and very sensitive.

He's been looking for a job but in this economy, i don't think he'll find anything anytime soon, especially since i don't feel he's a strong writer. Actually, i never told him this, but i think he's chosen the wrong vocation. He's a very social guy, and writing is a very solitary occupation.

If anyone has any suggestions for how to deal with him, please let me know. I don't feel i owe him any apology and i still do feel that it was very clear he wasn't pulling his fair share of the workload. Since our website went live, things have really heated up. But it's very unpleasant having to put up with his cold attitude now.

I am working at home on Election Day, so i don't have to stand in line with all the other commuters early in the a.m. I'll go in the early afternoon, a slower time, on my lunch hour. I still expect lines, but hopefully not nearly as bad.

October was overall a very good money month for me, mainly, i guess, becus i got 3 paychecks, not 2 on account of the extra week. I also made an extra $460 in freelance writing, kind of a feat considering that my normal workday at the day job goes from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm, door to door.

Today i'm planning on baking banana/walnut bread. There's other stuff i can do, but i feel like lazing around. It looks like this will be 2nd consecutive No Drive All Weekend. Oh, oops, that's not entirely true. I did drive about 1 mile when i went to pick up friend to do the Halloween festivities, tho we ended up walking there.

At work we had a Halloween party. A lot of people dressed up. There was some nice food, and i signed up to see the tarot card reader (1st time in my life). I considered it free entertainment. She said a few things that hit the mark, and some that didn't, but everything she said was pretty much general statements that might apply to anyone. She did say that i was going to be famous and asked me if i was an actor. I said no, actually i'm a writer, so then she said, i would write a book and get famous that way. Hmmm.

After getting home from work, my friend/neighbor and i headed for Main Street. We were going to drive, but when we saw all the cars lined up and parked on the side of her road, we knew there would be no parking spaces left behind the library or town hall, so we walked.

I took some pix but most didn't come out becus my little digital camera doesn't have a very powerful flash, i guess.

Main Street was mobbed. It got to be a little stressful dodging people on the sidewalks with screaming devils and dragons running around. There's one house where the owners, in their 70s, have a giant spider on a web extending from their rooftop, and he uses a pulley system to make the spider "descend" down the web. Each time he did that, the kiddies screamed in delight. There was a big crowd hanging out on his front lawn and a long line of children going up to the front door for their candy.



Last year, Main Street homeowners estimated they got 3,000 children. Many come from out of town or from neighborhoods that are too rural to make for good trick or treating. There was another house that had a long line of about 30 intricately carved pumpkins with candles all lit up and looking great. Another house had a variety of coffins and monsters. The ambulance corp was giving out free cider and the local inn was serving up hot chocolate in exchange for a donation for the new animal shelter fundraiser.



My apologies if i've left someone off the No Heat Contest updated list below. For a few weeks now, my posts on SA are often cut off at the end, if it's a longer post. I can fix it if i keep hitting the refresh button, but sometimes, too, not all the comments appear.

A few more people have turned on the heat during the past week, and i've adjusted the list below. For all those still going with no heat, BRAVO to you.

Still NO HEAT (as far as i know)
monkeymama - Northern California
debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Little gopher - Minnesota
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
Buckeye - Ohio
Koppur - Massachusetts
nomorecredit- NY

Those who already turned on the heat:
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
ann link - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1